With their field rocked by unprecedented challenges in 2020, these people and groups — some notable, some new — stepped into the breach.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:12AMA son in New York and a father in the West Bank prepare a favorite family recipe. Longing and resentment are in the mix, too.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:32AMHow do you like your celebration? Taylor Mac gives it to you dazzling and arch, while “Meet Me in St. Louis” is a nostalgic comfort.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:06PMThe joy of “A Christmas Carol” isn’t merely the story; it’s the ritual of communion and reflection with family and fans. This year that’s not possible.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:24PMCharming performers, elegant design and a smart video capture bring a bittersweet chamber play about the artist and his wife to the screen.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:36PMIt wasn’t the year for celebration. But watching innovation flourish inspired our chief critic, while other writers found the joys of the stage in other media.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:06AMThe life of Emilia Bassano Lanier is interwoven with Shakespeare’s in a boisterous British comedy.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:48PMConnection or isolation? Intensity or escape? This spate of shows that put the watcher to work are rewarding, but often in contrasting ways.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:06PMSocial distance has left us rusty when it comes to connecting with strangers. The latest piece by 600 Highwaymen aims to help us practice — starting with a call.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:24AMWith a marquee creative team, this romantic musical should have been a sure bet. One great song survived the out-of-town turmoil.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:06PMOur theater experts provide a guide to some of the successful (and failed) cinematic adaptations of plays and musicals — all for your streaming pleasure.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:36AMRobin Frohardt has turned a vacant space in Times Square into a colorful installation that slyly doubles as an eco-warning. Puppets have their moment, too.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:42PMSinclair Lewis’s 1930s novel-turned-stage play about the rise of fascism in America returns as an audio drama from Berkeley Rep.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:24PMThis stylized, two-character play finds the woman whose false accusation led to the lynching of Emmett Till bound to him, and to racist myths, forever.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:18PMOn the farm with Isabella Rossellini, as she readies a streaming theater piece with cameos from her animal friends.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:18PMIn a few minutes or a full show, these performers capture heartbreak, fury and laughs. For the words of Samuel Beckett, a disembodied mouth did the trick.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:24AMThe setting is stylish, and some tricks are nifty. But this Zoom show, which encourages audience involvement, is more scattershot than inspired.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:54PMIn the dreamscape of Toshiki Okada’s play, the American philosopher is a 21st-century presence, and an author meets his younger self.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:48PMIt might seem churlish to criticize productions improvising through a pandemic. But for audiences taking the chance, design makes a difference.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:36PMThe Billie Holiday Theater’s brilliantly designed performance, staged for a live audience in Brooklyn and filmed for YouTube, is an urgent response to police misconduct.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:24PMSix months dark. Thousands of artists out of work. Could this disaster have a surprise ending? Five critics on what must change, onstage and off.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18AMThrice-delayed and now virtual, this year’s scrambled show-tune revue “Miscast” has to entertain while recognizing that casting is political.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18AMJonathan Groff tapping a tribute to Sutton Foster? Lin-Manuel Miranda singing Anita’s part in “West Side Story”? Watch these videos and see what’s possible.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18AMPairing Molière and Millay for a socially distanced audience, Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey offers light entertainment just when we need it.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:06PMIn this gay haven known for its nightlife, the crowds are smaller this summer. And the nightclubs are closed. But by the pool, the show goes on.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:24PMShaun Prendergast’s play, written to be performed in darkness, asks audiences to imagine what the “ugliest woman in the world” looks like.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:18PMShakespeare in the Park and other outdoor venues are shut. But for performers and directors, open-air memories are as sharp as the bite of a mosquito.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:48PMWith an influenza pandemic and a war on, New York’s health commissioner took an unorthodox stand, declining to shutter public entertainment.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:54AMThe industry’s show-must-go-on smile masks a harder truth: that there is no substitute for the live interaction between performer and audience.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:54AMWith its themes of white privilege and black rage, Kermit Frazier’s “Kernel of Sanity” resonates powerfully today. That’s why Paula Vogel is giving it a boost.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:36PMThousands of students should have been gathering to cheer on the year’s best shows. But this isn’t a typical year.
SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:24PM
